Section C.
INTRODUCTION TO UNIX
Logging In
A terminal displaying the prompt
login:
is requesting your user name (this is the name assigned to you by
the system administrator). What you type appears on the screen;
this is called echoing. After you type in your user name, press
[ENTER]. The next prompt is
password:
Enter the password assigned to you and press [ENTER]. Notice that
as you type your password, the characters are not echoed to the
screen; this is a security precaution against inquisitive eyes.
Displayed next is the "message of the day"; important system
information and notices such as system downtimes.
Finally your default shell prompt will appear. This may often
simply be a "%", indicative that the default shell is the C shell
(csh), or a "$", which is the character used by the Bourne shell.
Other systems may instead display the hostname of your computer or
your login ID.
Logging Out
The are several ways of logging off the system at the end of your
session (though not all ways will work in all shells):
% exit
% ^D
note: the '^' means to hold down the key then
simultaneously press the "D" key)
% logout